Structure and Magnetism of Pd in Pd/Fe Multilayers Studied by XMCD at the Pd L_(2,3) Edges

摘要

We have measured the L_(2,3) absorption edges of Pd in Pd/Fe multilayers with different Pd interlayer thicknesses. The spectral features observed after the L_3 and L_2 white lines indicate that in the atomic layer adjacent to Fe the Pd atoms have a local structure different from fee. The hybridization of the Pd Ad states with the Fe 3d band leads to a small increase in the number of Pd Ad electrons. X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) measurements show that the Pd atoms directly at the interface are strongly polarized with a total moment of 0.38 μ_B/atom. The orbital moments are found to be small (0.0-0.04 μ_B). The thickness dependence of the XMCD shows that Pd atoms carry a magnetic moment up to 4 layers from the interface.